2024 Caboodle National Books Puzzle
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Wills
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How long should it take for a will to be dealt with? My father died at the beginning of August last year yet the solicitor still hasn't sorted things out. He told my mother she was just one of his many clients and basically to stop pestering him. The annoying thing is that my Dad was meticulous in everything he did, the will is straightforward and we can't understand why it's taking so long. Are we being unreasonable? The solicitor dealt with the sale of her house and she nearly lost her buyer twice because he was sitting on things.
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This reminded me of the old joke
"What's the difference between a solicitor and a wheelbarrow?"
The answer is nothing : unless you give them a push they'll both stay in exactly the same place!
The cynic in me is wondering if he is sitting on sums of money that he is receiving interest money on by holding for a prolonged period.Check the letter head on some correspondance, if he is a member of a professional body: get guidelines for normal procedure and tell him you will report him to the body if he does not sort himself out. One of the building societies took over a year to locate an account finalisation for my mum(my dad had died a couple of years prior) my solicitor kept a few thousand back, for contingency but made interim payments to all concerned whilst waiting for that small matter to resolve.Does this person know that your Mum has you to back her up? Make a call to the office yourself - for a wee progress check (it may help) I think it took a year for my Dad's estate to pass to my mum(NO WILL) but two years for my mums to be sorted out,because of the B. Society dragging their feet!
Traditionally an executor has a year to sort things out, but it's not enshrined in statute.
If there are no complications it should be possible to get probate in 3 months, possibly less. Some organisations are really slow to respond to queries.
Can take a while after that to gather in the assets and distribute them, particularly if you are unsure whether there are any unknown debts.
Was the solicitor appointed in the will? (Bad idea). If not sack him and do the job yourselves. If things are as straightforward as you say it ought to have been done by now.
Enid, in the first instance, if one is unhappy with a solicitor, it is necessary to write and complain to the Practice so that it can attempt to resolve the situation. Only after that avenue is exhausted will the Law Society show any willingness to get involved. That's the necessary process, I'm afraid.
It's an awkward situation. I've suggested to my Mum that I write a polite letter enquiring as to how things are proceeding and does he need any further info to complete things. He went to the same keep fit class as my mum and she doesn't want to rock the boat!!! The will wasn't complicated in the least, my dad had everything well documented, all account details, everything was kept together in a folder with a step by step guide for my mum of what to do when the time came so I really don't know what the solicitor is doing except to say that I too am slightly suspicious that he's gaining the interest. I guess I'll probably give him another month then get in touch possibly whispering three little words down the phone - The Law Society :-)
Several years ago, my uncle died leaving us some money in his will. The solicitors he had appointed really dragged their heels. I kept asking them what was going on and they kept blaming the tax office for the delays. Eventually, I contacted the tax office myself and a very helpful lady there sorted things out very quickly. The soicitor got quite stroppy about the fact that I had done that.
Soon after that we got the money with interest but I realised that the "interest" that the solicitors handed over to us was much less than the interest they had got on our money. I demanded they pay me the full interest but they refused so I took it up with "The Office for the Supervision of Solictors". They took an age too but in the end I won and got my full interest and the solicitors got a reprimand.
I tried to get additional compensation but, as the solicitors hadn't been working for me, "The Office..." said they couldn't do this - I would have to take legal action against the solicitors.
As far as I am concerned, solicitors like these are crooks and you can't trust them.
Did your father appoint this solicitor as his executor specifically, or was your mother his executor and did she simply pass the process on for him to deal with? Write to the solicitor on your mother's behalf if she doesn't want to write herself. Tell him frankly that you are unhappy with the length of time he is taking to clear matters up and ask specifically for information that he is still waiting for. Tell him that you want a reply within ten daysand that you are now treating your dealing with him as part of the statutory complaint process. If he was not the formally appointed solicitor, perhaps you could tell him you are unhappy with his professional standards and are going to transfer the process to another practice.
I am in the same position as yourself, but the estate I'm talking about was of such a value to be bordering on attracting inheritance tax. The solicitor (a family friend) said at the outset that it could take a year to sort things out and keep on the right side of HM customs and revenue. I spoke with many others and they all indicated "don't expect a payout for about a year". There are shares to sort out and the replies from the share companies are particularly slow. So, while it appears to be slow and cumbersome the solicitor may be making sure everything is above board and you are not going to be hit with any tax expenses. This is in Scotland where I understand you have to have legal representation in dealing with estates of value over �8000. Hope this helps.
Your solicitor is being totally unreasonable with the amount of time he's taking, in actual fact I would sack him immediately and get another one. The reason I say this is because my mother died last October and her affairs were very complicated and yet it's all been sorted out, lock stock and barrel.
Nobody seems to have mentioned yet that you don't need a solicitor to sort out an estate.
Get the original Will, find out who the Executor is, get Probate if necessary and contact the account holders to action your father's wishes. It's worrying that neither you or your Mum know what you are waiting for the Solictor to do. You are his clients. You are in control of him.
I did all this for a �1m+ estate, involving over 120 financial products, without the "help" of a solicitor and it was all transferred within 8 months.
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